Giving a hoot about Canadian music

Audible/Visual Hoots: Bre McDaniel, Greenhouse, High Signs & more

Bre McDaniel – “Every Bird”

Bre McDaniel’s latest effort is not going to be released as a single, just as the above video, and given the backstory, it’s easy to understand why. The video was filmed in Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver, which was the site of a tent city in 2014. The accompanying song is about the issue of homelessness and how resilient displaced people can be, and you can feel the strength of the song and the echoes of the people who briefly called the place home. – Michael Thomas

Divorcer – Unwonderful Demo

On Unwonderful Demo, Divorcer marry (heh) synth-pop and garage-rock and thrown in a viola for good measure. “Rice Cake Sardines” is a tasty treat with a kick and in the spunky “Half a Time,” it sounds like lasers are firing in the background and then the viola tosses you into another dimension. This Unwonderful Demo is…wonderful! – Laura Stanley

Morning Show – “Champions”

It’s been about two years since we debuted the band’s Prom Theme EP, and their return heralds more of the high-energy pop-rock we’ve heard previously. “Champions” feels like a sunny song, but the lyrics deal with a relationship that has gone so horribly wrong that you can’t stop thinking about it. –MT

Greenhouse – “Part-Time”

I’m really enthralled by Greenhouse’s “Part-Time” – both the song and the video. The song is soft at first but grows more angular and restless while the video is pretty much summer at 18 condensed into 6 and a half minutes. You hang out with your friends a lot, your car (probably your mom’s) makes you feel free, you like a girl and she breaks your heart, you feel sad about it, and then you light some fireworks in hopes that it will signify the start of something new – like the fireworks on New Year’s. It all makes for a fantastic watch/listen. – LS

High Signs – “A Much Larger Ocean”

Holy shit. This song is loud and proud from start to finish, from the celebratory guitars to the growled vocals. The title allegedly comes from an inebriated astronaut responding to questions about the moon landing being fake, but you can also see how positive the sentiment is. Keep your head up! There’s bound to be something good if you look hard enough. –MT

Sylo Nozra – “Right Here”

A new Sylo Nozra song is always a call for celebration here and Nozra’s latest is akin to the sun coming out after a thunderstorm. “Right Here” is a hopeful r&b track that finds Nozra adamant that better times are ahead – as he croons, “What we lost is now found.” – LS

PAPAL VISIT – “What Makes Him Win Like That?”

Pierre Cormier and Adam Mowery manage to capture a lot of the contempt we feel about “winners” in just one minute and 20 seconds. The quick surf/garage rock song has Mowery continuing to ask how “he” wins like that, and while we don’t get much of a backstory for the mysterious “he,” we can safely conclude he is an asshole. –MT

Scratch Nasty – “When All Is Gone”

Scratch Nasty have the blues on “When All This Is Gone”. It’s a song that’s about the end of a relationship – and how lonely that is – but it could also be about a post-apocalyptic world where few humans remain. In the video, a drone stalks the trio standing in a plowed field and takes in a stark landscape with nobody else in sight – is everything already gone? – LS